OK...

Here's a thread that everyone should jump in and help with.

BACKGROUND - Twice in the last two days I've talked in person with people who said they read this forum but never post! They'd both read my posts here. Today it was a newbie who had surgery about a month ago, and she said how helpful she has found LBT to be since her banding.

So I encouraged her to post something - and I reminded her that if nobody ever posted, and we all read - there'd be nothing to read. We all have things to share.

So why don't we start a simple post that lists the lesson we've learned about LapBanding that are NOT in the brochure, or that aren't mentioned at any seminar.

We can do it this way - post whatever QUICK TIPS or Realizations you've had, that you wish others would have mentioned. List them with a little bullet point, so they are easy to read.

I'll start off... in a fresh message. Please join me.

Come on in, the water's nice and warm....LOL :biggrin1:

I dreaded PBs. Little did I know that PBs were the least of my concern. I've since learned the *pain* involved when something gets stuck. Before getting banded I had no idea how much it hurt, I just thought you kind of "blech" and up it came, perhaps at random. I definitely had no idea of the 20, 30, 40... minutes of pure agony that preceded the PB. (Of course, we're all different here, but mine HURT!)

I wish I had understood how much more citical I would become about others' eating habits, and done more to curb that before it really set in.

I've learned that I really have no idea whether I'm at proper restriction or not. I have always, always questioned this, and am still unsure. I'd read before that "you just know" but that ended up being completely inaccurate for me.

• A big sign that I'm not well restricted:

... is when I can drink after eating, without noticing. OOPS! :phanvan

Big warning sign - normally I drink before my meal and although I occasionally have a sip or two after eating, I just can't 'chug-a-lug' or gulp a drink after a good protein-based meal. If I can regularly drink more than a few sips, right after a meal, it's FILL TIME!

I had never heard that you SIMPLY CAN'T drink after eating. I thought that you weren't supposed to - well you really aren't supposed to because if I do, I will PB and slime, there is no way I can drink while eating, or I will be in pain!

It takes awhile but the band did change my thinking ultimately. Once you start to succeed food seems to become less and less important. However once banded any little problem I have I think it's band related, and am scared that something will happen that will make me lose the band.

One thing I wish I knew....why there are some days when I have restriction and other days I have none.

One thing I would change, in the beginning I over ate and I stretched my pouch a bit...

Absolutely in agreement, I think because I still COULD eat prior to being filled properly, I DID EAT anything and everything I still could. That slowed my weight loss so I didn't really start seeing results till the last fill.

I reached the point about a month ago where i finally resorted to "eating to live" not "living to eat". I could care less about food, until i really need it... cravings.. gone, only thing i miss is the feeling of biting into a sandwich... i dont crave it, just miss it.

I have learned tthat the weight will not drop off until you have restriction! I also have tried to educate people around me about the band. The few people that I have told are watching me waiting for the weight to just drop off. It's not bypass............. You have to work and wait and work and wait..........

for me wheetsin, its defintally the pain before the PB or the pain of letting it go down instead of just PB'ing that hurts the most.

my sweet spot to me is: if i am happy about the quality and variety of foods i was eating. like jachut, i could always eat bread and i could eat salads, steak, or pork! i couldnt eat much and i couldnt eat fast. by the time i got the food down i was tired from chewing and satisfied. i could drink in the a.m. and only had to worry about a PB if i was being careless. i lost 100 the first year.

YOU decide what proper restriction is for you. according to my dr if i could eat pork or steak i needed a fill (WTF?) i was losing and still enjoying food and i think thats important. i like to eat- i want to eat and dont want to worry about pb'ing at breakfast!

after 3+ years i have learned that having a band changed the way my espohogus works and now i must leave it empty in order to not have to have it removed.

i have learned that the DR's dont have all the answers (or sometimes ANY!) and the fact remains that we really dont know WHAT to expect long term!

i have learned that exercise is just as important as restriction!

Most Desserts don't taste as good as they look, and certainly don't feel as good once they are past your band!

I echo this one and add...

*I've learned that developing a schedule for eating and working out becomes really important toward keeping me on track.

*I've learned that food is food and not a form of entertainment.

Malice X Girl,

"One thing I would change, in the beginning I over ate and I stretched my pouch a bit..."

How do you know you stretched your pouch out a bit?

Now, I'm scared I've done the same cheating on the pureed diet.:think

Hello everyone,

I am a newbie to this site and the lapband lifestyle. I turned 40 on the 28th of September and I had my lapband surgery on my 40th birthday. I figured it was a new phase of life so I might as well jump in with both feet.

This is my 4th day after surgery and I am totally afraid of throwing up. It is kind of hard to figure out if I am hungry or full. but I am sure I will get the hang of it.:omg:

Tomorrow will be my first day of work since the surgery,I hope it goes well.

Ambrosiap

I have learned that the weight will not drop off until you have restriction!

Amen!

They should have tattooed that inside my waistband in a temporary ink that only lasted a few months until I learned. I swear, I could have saved myself so much trouble. I spent the first few regular-diet weeks being amazed at what I could still eat. Instead I should have been focusing on getting real restriction - because I don't lose much without it. Some Bandsters can walk around under-restricted and eat as much bread and they want and lose weight. :hungry: Yeah that works early on, or when there is more to lose, or maybe if they were higher-volume eaters to begin with.

Me? Nope, I'm not that patient. So don't always get wrapped up if your band journey requires "tweaking" and "adjusting" to make it work for you.

I have a ridiculously slow (or downright sleepy :notagree ) metabolism. So although I was eating more than I should before banding, honestly I wasn't eating as much as my weight would lead one to believe I ate. So for me, LapBand restriction helps me to 'restrict' how much I eat. So I see better results when I use my tool properly. And it's really working. :clap2:

I also have tried to educate people around me about the band.

The few people that I have told are watching me waiting for the weight to just drop off. It's not bypass............. You have to work and wait and work and wait..........

Absolutely. So true - if I had a dime every time I heard "Gee my sister/cousin/neighbour/fellow coven member/sister-in-law had a gastric bypass and he/she/it lost 20# every month. How come you aren't losing that fast?

Not I simply smile and reply...

"Two reasons.

Number one, I had a different procedure. The LapBand is designed for slower, steady, more longer term weight loss. It produces more incremental loss that is often easier for the body to tolerate.

Number two, your friend was most likely, substantially more obese than I was. So considering that they had much more overall weight to lose, then it's natural they would lose much faster.

Gee, that shuts them up, wonder why? :heh:

(*evil grin*)

I've also learned a little something about how long it really does take to change bad habits. I'm 10 months into this now and only NOW do I find myself automatically eating less food, not serving up too much and then being unable to finish it. My head has gotten round the fact that I will not starve on half a cup of Cereal in the morning or a bread and butter plate sized dinner. IT seems normal to me now.

BUT - I still eat inappropriately at times, I eat when I'm not hungry just because I'm bored and stuff like that. I dont know that that habit will EVER be beaten.

That the resources on this board cannot be matched anywhere else including the surgeons office!! I do follow their advice and validate what Ive learned here.

That I have a long way to go in the process of learning to live with my band and with the aid of my support here I can do it! Im not alone.

-Patience

-That we really can continue to lose for years

-That people react to our weight loss in interesting ways

-That you can't really lose over 100 pounds without at least a little personality change

-That I am kinda cute afterall

-How much all that therapy helped me

-That I am an adult who controls my own destiny

-That I had better surrender to the band or things get ugly

-That rigid rules and lack of moderation feel too much like yet another diet

-That I like exercise and I love jogging!

I have learned

-to accept that the band is only a tool, not an automatic weight loss.

-that I will not die if I am not constantly full.

-that I generally had no concept of a 'normal portion' of food.

-that, even in small amounts, some foods simply don't work anymore.

-that exercise is my number one reason I feel and look better.

-to forgive myself for a bad eating day(s) and move on.

-there is nothing more motivating for me than to log on to LBT.

Thanks to everyone who posted a tip on here. I was just given this site by my doc. I had been out for over a year before coming back to him. I had lost 80 lbs, and now have gained nearly 50 back. This is the hardest journey for me right now. After my visit with the doc and nutritionist yesterday, I am back on track but it is so hard to believe that I will ever get to my goal weight. After reading many of the tips, I am now going out for a 30 minute walk at lunch. Thank you and much luck to all!